Kenneth Spence, a doctoral candidate in entomology at the University of California, Davis, "cottons" to biological control-specifically, the natural enemies of pests that attack cotton.

His research, focusing on "Omnivorous Natural Enemies and Induced Plant Responses," involves the interactions between omnivores and herbivores, and the induced plant responses in cotton.

"Most of my work," he said, "has been with the spider mite, Tetranychus turkestani, the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, and the minute pirate bug, Orius spp."

Spence is one of six graduate students from three UC campuses to receive a Robert van den Bosch Scholarship from the Center for Biological Control (CBC), College of Natural Resources, UC Berkeley. Spence, who also received a $5,000 van den Bosch scholarship last year, studies with major professor Jay Rosenheim.

Van den Bosch (1922-1978), a noted entomologist and biological control advocate, was a researcher and professor at UC Berkeley at the time of his death. During his career, he searched for natural enemies of agricultural pests, an effort that resulted in the importation and establishment of 17 natural enemy species.

CDC academic coordinator Lynn LeBeck said the 2006 awards ranged from $5,000 to $15,000. The other UC winners:

UC Riverside Department of Entomology: James B. Munro, $15,000; Rodrigo Krugner, $10,000; and Elizabeth Boyd, $5,000.

UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management: Caterina Nerney, $10,000; and Brian Hogg, $10,000.

Munro works on the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of parasitic wasps in the subfamily, Azotinae, and its sole genus, Ablerus (Aphelinidae: Chalcidoidea). Before he began his research, scientists recognized 96 species of Ablerus. "I have currently assigned 208 geographical morphospecies to South America," he said. "Ecuador alone has 71 morphospecies. Even after collapsing morphospecies across political boundaries, the number of new species of Ablerus I am describing easily exceeds the number of recognized species." His major professor is John Heraty.

Krugner's research centers on several aspects of the biology and behavior of a group of egg parasitoids of the glassy-winged sharpshooter Homalodisca coagulata (Say), first detected in Southern California in the late 1980s. Xylella fastidiosa infections rapidly spread in vineyards throughout the Temecula area. Krugner expects that results from these projects "will generate significant new information on the relationship between the glassy-winged sharpshooter and its egg parasitoids and provide practical information assisting development of a biological control program." His major professor is Marshall Johnson.

Boyd is taking a retrospective view in studying biological control aspects of the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Her research is titled "A Retrospective Non-Target Impact Analysis of the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Biological Control Project with Identification of Parasitoid Fauna for Three Native Sharpshooters in Southern California." Retrospective studies in ongoing biological control programs, she said, can yield valuable information on non-target impacts. Her major professor is Mark Hoddle.

Nerney is investigating a suite of parasitoids that attack the sunflower moth. Her aim is to understand the host-parasitoid dynamics and contribute to the field of conservation biological control. Her research is titled "A Case Study In Conservation Biological Control of a Native Pest; Sunflower Moth, Homoeosomae Electellum Hulst (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), Parasitoid Guild Analysis at the Field, Population and Landscape Level in California's Great Central Valley." Her major professor is Stephen Welter.

Hogg is evaluating the role of one common exotic generalist predator in California crop systems, the spider Cheiracanthium mildei (Miturgidae), in different parts of the landscape. His approach is to detail the impact of C. mildei on predator and herbivore populations in two California vineyard ecosystems that differ based on their proximity to intact natural habitat. His major professor is Rosemary Gillespie.

More information on CBC is at http://nature.berkeley.edu/biocon.